I Never Promised You A Rose Garden
by: Joanne Greenberg as Hannah Green
Summary:
This is a book about a 16 year old girl named Deborah Blau, who is schizophrenic. This books tells about the life people with mental illnesses go through. It also describes the life the family goes through. Throught out this book you find how Deborah has artistic abilties which she uses to show her therapist, Doctor Fried the world of Yr. Yr is the heavenly world Deborah made for herself because she was afraid of the real world. The doctors think this all started when she was five and had a tumor removed. It had been a painful experience both physically and emotionaly. Yr had been a place for Deborah to go and be comfortable and safe, but soon it took over her actions and words. Almost killing her babysister, staying distant from her peers and not having any friends; Deborah cut herself. This is when her parents Jacob and Esther Blau took Deborah to the mental hospital. They were torn between the love they have for their daughter and her mental illness. By putting Deborah in the mental hospital Jacob and Esther hoped the sickness would soon be gone, but unfortunatly realize that it will never be gone. At first Deborah had not talked to anyone, but eventually became friends with some of the other patients. It was hard to have friends because everyone was crazy and they knew it. Deborah had some prgress, but as soon as she would start to open up to Dr. Fried about Yr, she would have a mental breakdown. In Yr, there are alot of Gods and Godesses that persuade Deborah easily. They tell her things to convince her that she doesn't belong on earth and that getting help is all part of the plan to destroy her. In the end she finally overcomes the illness after long, hard and both emotional and physiacal pain. Yr is still there, but she learns to ignore it. She gets her GED and hopes to do something with her life, but is still afraid of the real world.
Important Characters:
Deborah Blau- main character, suffers from schizophrenia
Jacob Blau- Deborah's father
Esther Blau- Deborah's mother
Suzi Blau- Deborah's Sister
Doctor Fried- Deborah's therapist
Carla- a girl in the mental hospital that becomes close to Deborah
Helene- a well educated girl at the mental hospital, known for very violent psychotic episodes
The Censor- a being in Yr to guard Yr's secrets from earth, watches and controls Deborah's actions
The Collect- all the voices from Yr that represent people that have hurt Deborah on earth.
Joanne Greenberg:
Joanne Greenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from American University, Washington, D.C., with a major in anthropology and English literature. She has also studied at the University of London and the University of Colorado. She has a husband named Albert, who encouraged her to write her first book, The King's Persons. Joanne along with her husband live in a mountaintop home near Lookout Mountain. They have two sons who are grown. She writes daily; tutors in Latin and Hebrew and teaches cultural anthropology and fiction writing at the School of Mines.
What I Thought Of The Book:
At first, the book was very very difficult to understand. Joanne Greenberg doesn't really give alot of information about Yr until the middle of the book, so you don't really get what's going on in Deborah's head. She also switches perspectives alot in this book. Some parts were really interesting, but others were just confusing. This book is different from other books that I've read partially because it's about a 16 year old schizophrenic girl. The book also tells about the other world she lives in. And that's a little difficult to understand becuae alot of the words are made up so you really have to pay attention to what the author is talking about. I think it's a very good book about what it's like to be in a mental hospital but also very sad. Joanne Greenberg had really good reviews on this book, but I don't know if I like it as much as they did. As far as college bound, I think it definetly fits that description because college is supposed to be challengeing and this book was a challenge to read. I would reccamend this book to any one who is looking for a challenge to read or interested in mental hospitals with schizophrenic patients. Works Cited:
I Never Promised You A Rose Garden
by: Joanne Greenberg as Hannah Green
Summary:
This is a book about a 16 year old girl named Deborah Blau, who is schizophrenic. This books tells about the life people with mental illnesses go through. It also describes the life the family goes through. Throught out this book you find how Deborah has artistic abilties which she uses to show her therapist, Doctor Fried the world of Yr. Yr is the heavenly world Deborah made for herself because she was afraid of the real world. The doctors think this all started when she was five and had a tumor removed. It had been a painful experience both physically and emotionaly. Yr had been a place for Deborah to go and be comfortable and safe, but soon it took over her actions and words. Almost killing her babysister, staying distant from her peers and not having any friends; Deborah cut herself. This is when her parents Jacob and Esther Blau took Deborah to the mental hospital. They were torn between the love they have for their daughter and her mental illness. By putting Deborah in the mental hospital Jacob and Esther hoped the sickness would soon be gone, but unfortunatly realize that it will never be gone. At first Deborah had not talked to anyone, but eventually became friends with some of the other patients. It was hard to have friends because everyone was crazy and they knew it. Deborah had some prgress, but as soon as she would start to open up to Dr. Fried about Yr, she would have a mental breakdown. In Yr, there are alot of Gods and Godesses that persuade Deborah easily. They tell her things to convince her that she doesn't belong on earth and that getting help is all part of the plan to destroy her. In the end she finally overcomes the illness after long, hard and both emotional and physiacal pain. Yr is still there, but she learns to ignore it. She gets her GED and hopes to do something with her life, but is still afraid of the real world.
Important Characters:
Deborah Blau- main character, suffers from schizophrenia
Jacob Blau- Deborah's father
Esther Blau- Deborah's mother
Suzi Blau- Deborah's Sister
Doctor Fried- Deborah's therapist
Carla- a girl in the mental hospital that becomes close to Deborah
Helene- a well educated girl at the mental hospital, known for very violent psychotic episodes
The Censor- a being in Yr to guard Yr's secrets from earth, watches and controls Deborah's actions
The Collect- all the voices from Yr that represent people that have hurt Deborah on earth.
Joanne Greenberg:
Joanne Greenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from American University, Washington, D.C., with a major in anthropology and English literature. She has also studied at the University of London and the University of Colorado. She has a husband named Albert, who encouraged her to write her first book, The King's Persons. Joanne along with her husband live in a mountaintop home near Lookout Mountain. They have two sons who are grown. She writes daily; tutors in Latin and Hebrew and teaches cultural anthropology and fiction writing at the School of Mines.
What I Thought Of The Book:
At first, the book was very very difficult to understand. Joanne Greenberg doesn't really give alot of information about Yr until the middle of the book, so you don't really get what's going on in Deborah's head. She also switches perspectives alot in this book. Some parts were really interesting, but others were just confusing. This book is different from other books that I've read partially because it's about a 16 year old schizophrenic girl. The book also tells about the other world she lives in. And that's a little difficult to understand becuae alot of the words are made up so you really have to pay attention to what the author is talking about. I think it's a very good book about what it's like to be in a mental hospital but also very sad. Joanne Greenberg had really good reviews on this book, but I don't know if I like it as much as they did. As far as college bound, I think it definetly fits that description because college is supposed to be challengeing and this book was a challenge to read. I would reccamend this book to any one who is looking for a challenge to read or interested in mental hospitals with schizophrenic patients.
Works Cited: